I'm posting this here so others can see what awful customer support this company offers, as well as to ask for suggestions as to what to do next.
I received Fallout: New Vegas for Christmas, and I was saving it for a work trip that I'm currently on. When I opened the box, I began to install the game only to find that I needed to use a CD key to activate the game on Steam. No big deal, I thought. But as I looked for the key, I realized that it was nowhere to be found. There was no insert, no sticker, no printed code on the back of the manual, NOTHING.
My first instinct was to call Bethesda. They said they'd email with instructions about what to do next. When I received the email about an hour later, I was told to email them back with a picture of the disc, box, manual, and Classic Pack DLC CD key I received with the game. They also wanted a picture of the receipt. I explained that I did not have the receipt, but I thought the DLC key would do.
No response for 6 days, so I email them back with the attachments. I was then promptly (and rather shortly) told that there was nothing they could do. Sorry, you're screwed. I emailed back and told them I had the unused Classic Pack CD key and that I was a longtime buyer of Bethesda products. Once again, sorry there's nothing I could do. So I told them that I was planning on buying future Bethesda games, but that I probably wouldn't if their customer support was going to be this poor. I asked that the email conversation be forwarded to a manager.
I then got an email basically stating, "Thanks for your suggestions and/or complaints. If you want to talk more about it - sorry - you've exhausted your options."
I'm very disappointed with this response, mostly because my wife wasted $45 of our money buying me a game I cannot play.
/ventoff
TLR - I bought a copy of Fallout: NV with no CD key included. They won't hook me up with a new one. WAHHH